Council Strategic Initiative Fund Guidelines

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The Council Strategic Initiatives Fund (CSIF) assists one-time events or the first of a regularly occurring event, which encourage innovation and have the potential to support or contribute to the priorities of Council.

Applying for funding

Applications for funding must be submitted to the administration no later than 90 days before the start date of your event or initiative. Applications should be submitted by email to the CSIF contact. Unless approved by council, applicants are only allowed to apply for funding once in a calendar year.

Successful applicants will be required to fill out a grant agreement.

Who can apply?

Applications from non-profit organizations are preferred. We will only consider ‘for profit’ applications if a specific commitment is made to donate to a local charity. This commitment should be outlined in the application. You must prove in your application that your organization is credible, fiscally responsible, and has good management. Events that are open to the public, instead of a select membership, are preferred.

Applications from the following will not be considered:

Individuals

Fundraisers

Conventions

Funding information

We are able to delegate funding up to $50,000 on behalf of council. Funding requests that are over this amount are sent to council for approval. We are only able to provide funding if there are no other City of Calgary programs that can provide funding.

Funds will not be awarded for regular operating costs of your organization, for example, commissions or staff salaries. Broker agent’s commissions will not be covered either.

Funding for new initiatives

This funding is meant to encourage innovation that has the ability to contribute to the goals of council and should be used as a One-time start up or seed fund for initiatives or programs. To apply for this funding you must submit a sound business plan and a complete budget, including revenue and expenditures. This funding is limited to on-time only and you can only receive funding for one initiative annually.

Funding for festivals and events

This funding is to assist groups who are hosting a one-time special event in Calgary. This one-time only funding is only given to events that are related to:

Art – Supports all disciplines of visual and performing arts.

Culture – Promotes vitality and community inclusion. Must be open to the public

Recreation – Where appropriate these events should be endorsed or sanctioned by the appropriate governing body. Must be open to the public.

Sports – Where appropriate these events should be endorsed or sanctioned by the appropriate governing body. Must be open to the public.

Your application needs to describe the economical impact of your event and demonstrate a clear benefit to Calgary. Funding provided by this grant may only be used in relation to the event that it was approved for. It cannot be used for regular business operations of the organization.

After the event

Once your event has finished, you are required to submit a post event report within 60 days. This report should outline how you used the funds that you were provided and how it aligns to your initial request. Read our final report guide for more information.

If you do not submit this report, you will be denied other funds associated with this program, funds could be reclaimed, and you may be refused future funding through the CSIF.

Any unused funds must be returned to us no later than the date that the post event report is submitted.